Read 2 Corinthians 11:23–28

Imagine reading a ministry job posting like this.

Opening for full-time church planter and pastor. Please read the first-hand account of ministry experience from our former pastor:

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23–28)

Would you send your resumé to apply for that post? I have a feeling the candidate pool for that position would be small.

Too often, ministry positions are couched in ways to attract young, talented, blue-chip candidates and invite them to an opportunity for ease, popularity, and public affirmation. The apostles knew none of that. The same for servants of Christ today who truly preach the gospel of Christ and surrender their lives to Him.

Jesus Himself said, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

Are you numbered among “the few”?

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.